NEW DELHI: Expressing concern over the status of foreign nationals languishing in Indian jails despite having served their full sentence, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to file a report on the same.
A Bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan asked the Government to file a comprehensive report within four weeks.
During the brief hearing, senior advocate Bhim Singh, who was the petitioner in the case, told the apex court that when he had filed the petition in 2005, there were 82 such people in various prisons in Jammu and Kashmir.
The court had earlier directed the Centre to release and repatriate 61 Pakistani nationals lodged in Indian jails despite having completed their prison term and had expressed concern over prolonged incarceration of such people.
The Bench, in its May direction, had also asked the Centre to bring in a suitable mechanism to ensure that such foreign nationals were not forced to remain in jail, as courts were being flooded, with complaints about the issue.